Part of a series about employees who have advanced in their careers and are filling new roles within Yale New Haven Health.
Thanks to his previous job experience, William Douglas brings a unique perspective to his role as support coordinator for network operations for the Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Network.
Actually, he brings a lot of different perspectives. Since joining Yale New Haven in 2014, Douglas has held eight positions in the health system. He and other YNHHS employees shared their career journeys during a recent “Pathways to Career Success” webinar sponsored by Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging.
Douglas’ experience with YNHHS actually began in 2013, when he did a three-month administrative internship at Yale New Haven Hospital as part of his degree in public health at Southern Connecticut State University.
“That internship made me realize that there are so many opportunities available in this organization,” he said.
A few months after completing his internship, Douglas returned to YNHH and worked for a year as a per-diem patient transporter. He then became a business associate on a nursing unit, which gave him insight into clinical operations. Douglas decided to pursue his master’s in business administration at Albertus Magnus College, while working in another role: outpatient access representative for Urology.
“That allowed me to visit different urology outpatient sites and gain experience in a lot of different areas,” he said.
After leaving the Urology position, Douglas held a series of different roles, including night-shift registrar in the Emergency Department, program coordinator in Geriatric Services, patient access supervisor, and Human Resources business partner for Lawrence + Memorial Hospital. In June 2021, he started his current job, in which he supports Radiation Oncology and Pharmacy operations for Smilow Cancer Care Centers throughout the state. In all of his roles, he built relationships with colleagues and mentors.
“Through those relationships, and conversations with different people, I started to uncover even more opportunities within the organization that I wasn’t aware of.”
In addition to networking, Douglas encourages people seeking a new career to take risks, try different roles and take advantage of YNHHS’ opportunities and resources. Although Douglas has two college degrees, he stressed that education can take many forms, including on-the-job training and classes such as those offered by YNHHS’ Institute for Excellence.
Above all, be patient, Douglas said.
“When you first get out of school or start a new job, you want to hit the home run,” he said. “Sometimes you get caught up in the wrong priorities – like making a lot of money or getting promoted to the highest level – and you lose sight of what’s really important. Take the time to reflect on your interests; find out how you can turn those interests into skills and those skills into a position.”
